Not to contradict... As without this site and the wonderful contributions and insight from so many I would’ve never passed my poly… And more to the point, I’m sure that we’re all after the same thing for fundamentally decent and moral reasons. BUT... I'm constantly dismayed at what I see as a fundamentally flawed approach to the dismantling of the Poly-Nation. I see so many posts that blow a kiss to the unfortunate individual candidate who fails and his feeling of anger, dismay, etc. However, this critical point is then invariably buried with talk of “national security” and assorted big-picture concerns…. This, in my humble opinion, is a huge tactical error. Concern about the polygraph’s failure to adequately protect “national security” is certainly important and valid; it, however, misses the mark completely. Legislators, government officials, et al will never change their collective position on the use of polygraph examinations because of such an ethereal argument… Why? Because it’s rhetoric… And rhetoric don’t vote. People vote. This is a people issue… An honest person that fails a polygraph examination has been denied opportunity to pursue a life-long dream – usually without recourse or adequate explanation. It’s effect on the person can be unbearable. However, we as a “movement” seem to shy away from making this personal cost our main point. It’s as though we ourselves truly believe that this outrageous treatment of citizens is in itself not enough of a reason to abolish this treacherous toy. I suggest that it is. Instead, our most vociferous pleadings of national security concerns seem almost a collective yelping of a perverse testament of nationalism… By shying from the personal cost in favor of pointing out “meatier” concerns… National security, spies, and the like. We seem to screaming, “See, WE’RE patriots, too!” The Jews tried that one… Didn’t work. I mean… Christ, we’re obviously good citizens… Why would I be attempting to become a police officer? Instead, I suggest that we utilize a campaign of letters… Of petitions. Of substance… Contacting local media outlets with stories of polygraph abuse. Let “the man” know that a constituent has been treated unfairly, unethically, and cruelly by an arm of the state and something may happen… Let “the man” hear personal stories of despair. These are much more powerful. No spy has ever been caught by a polygraph… Blah, blah, blather… Better points can be made… The Philadelphia PD’s experience that many candidates who passed polys turned out to have lied about substantial issues during the hiring process (including major crimes)… Let’s dig up some examples… Bottom line: This toy dishonors and excludes honest men and women who have a calling to serve. It cheats the citizen.
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